Hanging Around The Line
by SeRa.RoCkS
Summary: Haley contemplates her relationship when Nathan, realizing that before the big step, there are smaller steps along the way. S1 Naley fluff.


**Hey guys! This is a Naley one-shot that I've abandoned months ago, and I just found recently hidden deep in the recesses of my computer while I was deleting some unneeded files. Don't worry, my updates for **_**Collide**_** and **_**Sway**_** are coming up soon. So while waiting for them, enjoy this one-shot I finally finished today, and if you have a moment, please tell me what you think.**

**--Sera**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own a thing.

The early morning sunlight streamed through Haley's bedroom window, making her stir awake, much to her dislike. She gave a small groan as she tried to ignore the fact that it was time for her to get up. Why was she so tired that morning? She was usually such a morning person – especially compared to Nathan.

Nathan.

Haley nearly jumped off her bed, clutching the blanket to her chest, expecting Nathan to be lying next to her, asleep. She was surprised to see her bed empty, which was strange, because unless it had been another one of her insane and ridiculous dreams of him staying the night – there had been too many of those lately, sometimes coupled with them doing things Haley was ashamed to even think – but she was pretty sure he was there.

She bent down to reach for the pillow lying on the other side of the bed, holding it against her nose. Nathan's scent – it was a comforting scent, but at the same time, it brought shivers down her spine. She had been spending so much time with Nathan that she could recognize it almost immediately – practically feel his presence there.

It brought back so many thoughts, so many memories of last night. She could remember last night so vividly. They had spent all day together, shutting off their phones and taking a drive down to Nathan's beach house, where they simply talked all day – okay, so they hadn't _just_ talked. There had been other things they were doing – things that made Haley blush to her roots just thinking about it.

Still grasping the blanket and pillow in her arms, she went over to the mirror, examining herself. She spun around, stood on tiptoes and once or twice, lifted up her shirt just to graze the skin beneath it – the skin that felt the raw and needy hands of Nathan, even more so when he left a hot, wet trail kissing her. Haley felt an involuntary shudder race through her. How he could make her feel those sensations and Good Lord, _want_ it all over again just by thinking about it, she didn't know.

"What are you doing?" His familiar voice drawled from somewhere behind her, probably from the bathroom.

Haley spun around only to see Nathan standing across the bedroom from her, wearing nothing but his boxers. Her hand immediately went up to her face to cover it, and she was probably blushing furiously because she could practically feel the heat in her face and ears. Good God, he was gorgeous with his hair tousled and that body of his – Haley was pretty sure that if she stared at it long enough, she'd probably come.

Just like she did last night.

The mere memory of it only made her blush even more as she swung away from him in the hope to hide herself. What was wrong with her? Why did she have to act like such a lovesick and incessantly horny girlfriend around him all the time? Ever seen they crossed that nerve-wracking line of admitting that they loved each other, and then the even more nerve-wracking line last night, it was Haley could think about. Hell, maybe if she remembered her dreams, she probably dreamt about it, too.

_It was nothing. You didn't do the deed-that-must-not-be-done. You didn't cross the line. You merely – hung around it. Too many times. Which was okay. It wasn't exactly doing it, so there was nothing wrong with it. Don't be too worked up about it._

Haley's silent pep talks to herself in her head were really starting to get old. Even she was getting annoyed at herself. Her conscience was screaming all the rules and regulations Haley had once made for herself, and the one time she fell in love, she's ready to throw it all out the window and for what? Because she wanted him to stay? Because maybe – deep down inside – she really wanted to not only hang around the line, but actually cross it? Because she didn't want to be a tease, knowing that he had a past that kept painfully lingering in her mind?

"Will you please go put on a shirt or something?" Haley begged. She could practically feel the raw sexuality radiating from him, knowing that if she dared to turn around and he was still half-naked, she would probably throw herself at him.

"You didn't seem to object last night."

Haley knew that there was a full-blown smirk on his face and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at that fact. "Last night was last night. Today is – different."

"That's not a very good reason, Hales."

"Will you _please_ just do it, Nathan?" She pleaded, making little jumps in her place as she did. She was veering off the edge of reason now, and it didn't help that she could hear him chuckling.

She heard a short scuffle, the sound of a drawer shutting and after a moment, when Haley felt it was safe, she turned around with her breath held, praying that he did what he was told. Nathan had put on a shirt but he was still smirking at her. Damn that sexy smirk of his. If it wasn't the hot body, the smirk was definitely her undoing.

Haley walked towards him and buried her face into his chest, letting his comforting arms wrap around her, enveloping her with the kind of warmth only Nathan could give. She inhaled the familiar scent of his shirt and sighed. "Thank you."

Nathan gently pushed her away to hold her at arms' length, the smirk on his face gone and replaced by concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Haley, I think I know you enough to tell if you're fine or not. I love you, remember?"

Just hearing him say those three words could bring her heart to palpitation. It was all new to her, hearing someone other than her family or Lucas say it to her, in an entirely different context. She closed her eyes as he pressed his lips to her forehead. She murmured it back, loving the way his eyes lit up when she said it, and the wide, genuine smile on his face that she rarely saw when he wasn't with her.

"Will you please tell me what's wrong? You're starting to worry me."

"I can't stop thinking about last night," confessed Haley as she peeked up at him.

"Neither can I. I actually took two cold showers this morning."

Dear Lord, there was that smirk again. She tore herself from his grasp and ran back to the mirror, spinning around and gazing at her reflection. "You don't understand, Nathan! I don't look any different! I feel so different on the inside – I'm practically having an ongoing and maybe endless internal battle with myself but I don't look any different on the outside!"

"Well, it's lucky that you don't look different on the outside because Lucas will probably kill me if he sees you," teased Nathan. When he saw that she wasn't laughing, he walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a kiss on her cheek. "Haley, we didn't cross the line last night."

"But we hung around it! A lot!" Haley protested.

Nathan couldn't help but laugh, marveling at how cute she was. "What are you trying to say?"

"You know what I'm trying to say!"

"No, I don't."

"Nathan!" Haley whined, pouting. Her petulant expression quickly changed to anger when she saw the teasing smile on his face. "Nathan Scott, you are not allowed to enjoy this! You love to watch me squirm, don't you?"

"Only because you look so damned hot when you do," assured Nathan, laughing. "Come on Hales. I want to hear you say it."

Haley was blushing to her roots again, and her voice was so tiny that if Nathan took one step back from her, he wouldn't have heard what she was saying. "We – uh, _touched_ each other."

"Touched each other's what exactly?"

Nathan roared with laughter when Haley let out a scream as she spun around, whacking his arm. "You are enjoying this!"

Haley crossed the room and threw herself on the edge of the bed, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at him. When he took a seat next to her, Haley made sure to keep a good foot's distance away from him.

"Oh c'mon Hales, you know I was only joking. Look, let's talk about this – seriously talk about it. What about last night is bothering you?" Nathan asked, finally getting serious. When she didn't answer, he asked, "Are you regretting last night?"

Haley's answer was almost immediate. "No."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nathan, I love you. I really, really do and it scares me – a lot, because I have never fallen in love with anyone, much less with someone like you. And I know who you are – who you were before me, and that probably scares me more than anything because when I walk down those halls in Tree Hill, I can't help but hear things –"

"Haley, who gives a damn on what they think?"

"I do! Nathan, you should hear what they are saying. It's enough to make me worry about it every day. I feel like such a tease –"

"You are not a tease."

"-And last night when we hung around that line –"

"We didn't exactly cross it."

"-Which makes me a tease because you have experience and I know you want more –"

"I don't," and before Haley could say anything else, Nathan bent down and gave her a kiss. His lips gently pried hers open as he expertly slipped his tongue inside, smirking against her mouth when she moaned his name. His tongue sampled the inner linings of her lips before meeting with hers as they battled furiously for dominance, each touch and thrust of her tongue with his quickly sending him over the edge. He groaned when she ran her blunt fingernails over his scalp and settling on his neck, playing with the hair on his nape as she eagerly responded to his kiss. The need for oxygen was getting greater, but he couldn't get enough of her, how she tasted so sweet like strawberries, how she moaned over and over, how her body was arching into his – it was addicting. When Nathan felt his hands itching to slip up her top, he finally forced himself to pull away, panting heavily. "I don't." He repeated softly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah Hales, I am. I'm perfectly happy with this – making out with you, spending time with you without having to hide it anymore, holding your hand without caring who sees, telling you that I love you and hearing you say it back," he smiled when she blushed again, her beautiful brown eyes sparkling. "And I'm also perfectly happy with 'hanging around the line' with you. But I know you're worried that I'm changing you, because I know this isn't who you are."

"Nathan, when I'm with you, I'm myself – and so much more. If you're doing any changing, it's for the good. I've never been happier," promised Haley, the sincerity in her words so obvious that Nathan wanted to kiss her again. "I'm just new to all of this. It's going to take some time for me to get used to it."

"Time is what we have a lot of, baby," he grinned at her, taking her hand and pressing his lips to it. "I'm not pressuring you to do anything, Haley. If you don't want to hang around the line, it's fine with me. I respect you, Hales, and I respect your decisions. We can wait for as long we want."

The way he said it, the way he looked at her so intensely was making Haley lightheaded and restless. "Damn, you are just too hot. I can already feel myself caving in into that one."

Nathan laughed, pulling her against him so they fell back on the bed so he hovered above her. He bent down to kiss her again, and then trailing his lips down so it lingered on the base of her neck. "I love you, Haley. Nothing or no one else matters."

"I love you too, Nathan," she couldn't help but moan loudly when his lips parted to lave the sensitive skin, licking and sucking to leave a mark. She pulled him up, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I think I just caved in."

"So are we hanging around the line again?" He asked her hopefully.

She giggled at his sudden eagerness. "Yes, we most definitely are from now on."


End file.
